Ascension Sunday
16 May 2021
Isaiah 45.22-24
This past Thursday, holy Church celebrated our Lord’s glorious ascension into heaven 40 days after His resurrection. Since we did not have service that day, we do well to reflect today on that major event of Jesus’ life and work for us and our salvation. As we heard in today’s Epistle, these 40 days were spent with Jesus presenting Himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs...and told them things about the kingdom of God. The apostles were the ones who would go out into the whole world and bring the good news about Jesus--that He suffered and died and rose again from the dead defeating sin, death, devil and hell and reconciling us sinners to the holy God; the apostles were the ones who would and did suffer and die for spreading this glorious message and so Jesus gave them further teaching and proof positive that He indeed really did rise from the dead. And ten days later the ascended Jesus would send the Holy Spirit upon them to keep them in that truth and in the correct proclamation of that truth, as we heard in today’s Epistle: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
We heard much the same in today’s Gospel when Jesus gave the apostles the Great Commission: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. But after giving them the Great Commission, Jesus continues in today’s Gospel: And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. All these things we see in the lives of the apostles recorded in the book of Acts. And where it has pleased the Holy Spirit, we see these things also throughout Church history.
And we really get to the heart and core of Jesus’ ascension in the last two verses of the Gospel: So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Notice: Jesus was received up into heaven. We dare never think of Jesus’ ascension like a rocket ship blasting off and Jesus going higher and higher; in other words we dare never think of a “layered” universe with heaven being “way up there”. Because that means what? --God is so far removed from us; that we are left on our own to do our own thing and God has no part in the going ons. It is better to think of the ascension this way: Jesus ascended upwards, and as today’s epistle records, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. Once the cloud blocked Jesus He was received up into heaven; that is, He was in the presence of the angels and saints and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus is in that position of power and authority ruling over all things. The right hand of God is, then, not so much a physical place as if Jesus is confined and “locked away” to a certain spot in a heaven far removed from us. Instead, the right hand of God is everywhere because look at what St. Mark records: And they [the Apostles] went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. The apostles went out into all the world--everywhere--and where was Jesus? With them! Working with them and confirming their preaching with these miraculous signs! So, far from the ascension limiting Jesus like He was during His earthly ministry to one place at one time, the ascension means that Jesus--the God-man--is with His Church wherever She may be and wherever each of His dear Christians may be--wherever you and I are; He is with us always.
Today we will spend a few moments pondering in the light of the ascension, Jesus’ words that the OT prophet Isaiah recorded. And as we do so we will see that, in the words of the Te Deum that because Jesus ascended into heaven, He opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers; and that from there He shall come to be our Judge.
Jesus says in our text: Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. What does Jesus’ ascension show us? It shows us that He accomplished the work He had come to do; it shows us that He, who had come to be our Savior from sin, death, devil and hell actually carried out His work--He actually paid for the sins of the world--that’s what Easter shows and gives us. And now with Jesus’ ascension--His return to the Father who sent Him-- we see proof positive that the work for our salvation is done. And now heaven is opened to us sinners who put our trust in Jesus and His saving work. That’s why Jesus says here: Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! He can say this because He has saved us from our sin and its consequences. Our rebellion against God and our guilt, our sin and unrighteousness do not shut heaven to us because Jesus took our sins upon Himself and went to the cross for them; and the holy sinless Jesus gives us His holiness and righteousness. What we lack and what shuts heaven to us, Jesus gives us--His perfect holiness--and so now as we receive it in faith the kingdom of heaven is opened to us. Our sin and guilt no longer block the way because Jesus dealt with it once for all on the cross. In the words of our text, each of our Lord’s dear Christians can say: Surely in the LOrd I have righteousness--the perfect righteousness of Jesus that He gives me as I give Him my sin in confession.
That’s why Jesus cries out in the first words of our text: Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! The “look to Me” is in the sense of “Turn to Me”--turn to Me in repentance and confession; turn away from yourself and away from sin and turn to Me in faith. Jesus did not go about His saving work of suffering and dying so that we could continue on in our sin. Instead, He went about His saving work precisely so that we, recognizing our sin and the wrath of God and damnation that we earn for them could turn our gaze to Him/ turn to Him in repentance; so that we could turn to Him and His mercy toward us sinners! Because what are Jesus’ words here, but a gracious invitation to His mercy! His mercy flows to us from His holy heart burning with love. Jesus doesn’t want us to stay in our sins and guilt. Instead, He wants to forgive us our sin; He wants to give us His righteousness; He wants to open heaven to us!
How can we be sure Jesus means each one of us? Not only does He say, Look to Me, and be saved, but He also adds: all you ends of the earth! That means that no one is excluded. His work and promise are for all people--you and me! Jesus’ call goes out to all people until the end of time and that’s why Jesus told His disciples: you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Here we see the glorious extent of Jesus’ kingdom, the Church! The Church is made up of all people of all time and places who sorrow over their sins and trust in Jesus as their Savior from those sins. When St. John gets a glimpse of heaven and the saints in heaven, how does he describe it [Rv. 7.9]? A great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues… All this because Jesus by His life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers--and they are believers because in mercy He called them to faith in Him. Through the word proclaimed by His Church Jesus doesn’t force anyone into His kingdom; He doesn’t use power, just His word--that commands: Look to Me and then promises and be saved--and through that promise the Holy Spirit works faith to believe and receive Christ’s mercy.
What/ how we deal with this gracious invitation of Jesus determines what happens when Jesus returns as Judge: we believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge. In our text Jesus says: I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Here Jesus not merely promises but states what will happen. --All people will have to confess precisely who Jesus is: the Son of God and the Savior of the world; my Savior from sin. This is something Christian does already now, joyfully, in faith. All throughout the ages and all throughout the world today our Lord’s dear Christians are bending the knee, submitting to the Lord in faith. That’s what happens when we come to faith in Jesus--we bend the knee before Jesus: we recognize Him as our God; we recognize His will and strive to do it; we fight against our own will that opposes His holy will; we find in Him our true joy and fulfillment. In short, we turn away from self and to Him.
It only makes sense to bend the knee before Him because He is Lord, the true God. After saying Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! Jesus adds: For I am God, and there is no other. Jesus alone is the only true God and so He is the only way to salvation/ heaven. No one or nothing else can save us--none of the gods of other religions; not the “god” of human wisdom; nothing! And there is no rest of conscience or soul apart from Him and His forgiveness and His mercy.
So, feeling our sin and guilt but hearing of the mercy and forgiveness Jesus offers and gives us, that His ascension assures us of, the Holy Spirit works faith in our heart so that we bow the knee to Him in fear and love; we are before our dear Lord full of sorrow over our sin but with reverence, fear and humility--faith.
Now Jesus, our risen and ascended Lord, has His gracious command and promise go out: Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! But not all will believe it. Many will continue to reject Jesus and the salvation that He brought about and now gives us through His holy word and sacrament. Many will not bow the knee to Jesus--now. They will look to other things as their god and savior--be it the god of some other religion, or be it the god of wealth, power, pleasure. In these things they will place their trust and look for happiness/ contentment. Indeed, these false gods may seemingly deliver--for a while; people may actually seem happy, content, without a worry in the world; they may seem very successful and seem to have no need of Jesus. And so they don’t turn to the Lord; they don’t bow the knee and take an oath to Jesus and so live and act as if He didn’t exist.
But there will come the Last Day, when Jesus will come to be our Judge. To Him men shall come. At that time every knee will have to bend and every tongue will have to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; all will have to confess that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world--their Savior from sin, death, devil and hell. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. But for those who reject Jesus now, who want nothing to do with Him now, it will be too late. Nothing but hell and damnation await. And all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him.
But for the Christian, it is something that we do already now--joyfully. That’s what happens at conversion; that’s what happens each time we go to Jesus in confession; that’s what happens when we hear and believe His word; that’s what happens when we receive Him in the Holy Supper--we are in faith recognizing Jesus, receiving His gifts, confessing Him as God and Savior. We say: Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
Now our ascended Jesus deals with us with His word, in grace and spirit--opening heaven to us; come the Last Day when He comes to be our Judge, He will come and deal with people in judgment and power. May we now in faith joyfully confess our ascended Lord, await His coming and help others prepare for His return. INJ